Lock Down Drill

posted May 15, 2018, 8:02 AM by Susan Gordon

Each semester, as part of our Safety Plan, Burlington Central School conducts three fire drills and two lockdown rehearsals. These planned rehearsals are important in ensuring that staff and students are aware of how to appropriately respond in the event of a real emergency. If any deficiencies or problems are noted, the changes are made to the plan.

This morning (May 15) BCS conducted a Lock Down Drill. During this drill members of the Halton Regional Police Service were on hand conducting a lockdown rehearsal and training exercise. ‎ Approximately eight (8) police officers from the Halton Regional Police Service, including our assigned high school liaison officer Cst. Jeff Schwoob were on-site at the school responding to the call as if it were a real lockdown situation. Please note that this exercise involved red plastic replica firearms that are not capable of being loaded or fired in any manner. No real firearms were used in the exercices. During the exercise, staff and students were in the lockdown mode (doors locked, lights off, students sitting on floor). The only impact of the police training portion of the lockdown exercise on staff and students is the potential to observe several marked police cars in the parking lot, and see officers in uniform moving on foot through the hallways of the school issuing loud verbal commands to each other. During these drills there is no intentional contact or interaction between students and police officers.

Normal school activities resumed once the lockdown rehearsal was complete. These types of training exercises help to ensure that staff, students and police are ready to respond appropriately in the event of a real emergency.